45 .... and a poll question!!

So I turned 45 very recently and it made me feel a little old and out of shape..Fortunately I found a lot of old pictures and realized that I just get better looking with age. However, I am concerned that 45 may be the tipping point when things start to go downhill fast.  I notice that within the last year my head may actually be getting rounder..(as if a sphere could get rounder) or possibly flattening like the the picture on the lemonheads box (mmm. lemonheads).  And when the heck did the lemonheads get friends?  They don't need friends and they don't want friends..and I sure as heck don't want to be picking out the lemonheads from the "friends" in the bag.  Anyway I digress.

I am also concerned that every picture of me lately has a pair of sunglasses attached to my head.  I think i am subconsciously concerned with the lines that have appeared around my eyes in the last year.. I definitely look younger and more hip with them on and they are definitely cheaper than surgery.  Unless I give in to Jared and Ryan at Kompetitive Edge who are still trying to talk me into a pair of Oakley Jaw Bones.  Ryan almost had me sold when he told me he could get them custom designed  Wisconsin colors and possibly even get them as bifocals.  I just can't spend that much on sunglasses when I lose a pair ever 2-3 days.  

So here is my progression from fat kid to skinny guy to hunk in the last 45 years  (I have left out the photos that actually show my girth as a child and in the brief period between 25 and 43 years of age. No one really needs to see that)

I almost fainted trying to hold my stomach in while K took the picture,,Notice the color coordination though.

OK..the last photo from Saturday shows I may have slid to "chunk" instead of "hunk"  but for the most part I am getting better looking.  Thus I  really should not be feeling bad about turning 45.  I'll just focus on getting healthier, leaner and stronger and let the rest take care of itself.  I'm sure I'll continue to be vain but at least I am not doing anything as pathetic as hanging out with old people to make me feel young.  By the way here are some photos of our ride on Saturday from Idaho Springs to Georgetown. Kristine and I went with our friends Doreen and Ted...It was a great ride..easy climb up to Georgetown where we ate breakfast and a fast descent back down to Idaho Springs..Doreen even saved us money at breakfast with her senior discount.

The crew..FYI I just had a short sleeve jersey on and was hot..I have no idea why these people are dressed for winter

Kristine and Doreen..I have no idea what they are doing..Some kind of whack gang sign..

On the way back to Idaho Springs.

As for actual triathlon news.  I hit the gym a few times last week and hoisted some iron.  Luckily I lift weights at the rec center at lunch time.  Thus there are only three or four old guys there and I don't have to lighten the weights much after they are done using them. I am definitely a lot less sore after using the weights than I was after my initial session of a couple of weeks ago.  I even got a run in and made it 4 miles without puking..I so hate running.. and I really hate not running..... But I really really hate trying to get into running shape again...ugh.

After checking with my significant other the "A" race next year is going to be REV 3 Cedar Point. I am planning on the 140.6.    I picked the race partly because of the course and average temperature..in a large part because I enjoyed the Rev 3 race in Maine so much and the last factor was Jen Small told me to.

Oh..and please feel free to put in the comments section..hair..or no hair..and to take the poll at the very top of the page.    There seems to be a running debate about which way I look better.  Obviously I am concerned about this and making the public happy.

Later Gators..

INSPIRATION

So, I am in week one of my new goal to complete an Iron distance race. I am looking for inspiration to shed my weight and become fit.  Basically to be disciplined and motivated.  I see many of the people I know looking to professional triathletes or elite triathletes as inspiration and talking about what great human beings they are.  How do they know this.."well she seemed really nice when she was hocking Newtons...or he took the time to have a picture with me after the seminar his sponsor made him put on.."  Yes..much like Mother Theresa these people should be given sainthood.  However, I just can't derive any inspiration from them.  When a pros biggest problem is his "ethical" dilemma whether to race in the same even that the cheater Lance Armstrong is racing in for charity..I can see we do not have a lot in common.  I also cannot get inspiration from people who overcame the odds to finish the race even though they had to use borrowed race wheels..or God forbid..their training wheels.  If you have more than two hours to train on a daily basis..I really don't have a lot in common with you and personally cannot derive a lot of inspiration.  I personally get much more enjoyment out of having another cyclist say ..Hi!! on your left...then I do from meeting some Kona winner.

Thus who do I see as inspirational?  People who have a lot to overcome..people who deal with life's obstacles everyday.  People who don't own a $5000 tri bike but kick the ass of those who do. (My friends Greg and Doug)

For weight loss I have New Jersey Jen who just had a write up in October's Health Magazine.  She lost over 100 lbs and turned herself into a runner.  Jen is also a wife, mother and documentary filmmaker. Trying everyday to juggle her weight, training and family. You can see her story on her blog here  seejenroerun.blogspot.com/ . 

Jen's picture in Health Magazine

And then there is Maine Jen..who also dropped over 100 pounds and is now a serious triathlete and motivator. Jen is also a mother and wife.  She recently got her husband Casey motivated to start training.  In fact, Casey is pretty inspirational..in that he actually has to put up with Jen and works long hours yet is still finding time to train.  Maine Jen is also in Health Magazine in October and had a write up in her local paper.  Here is her write up.. Jen in the paper.

Making the big time

I just reconnected with a friend of mine Patty who I last saw 25 years ago when I worked at Hardees. She is in the middle of a weight loss journey ..losing over 100 pounds with more to go.  She just completed a 5k and is looking at doing a 10k.  How awesome is that?  Again, I can derive motivation from hearing such things and wanting to help out with what little knowledge I have with racing and nutrition.

My wife's cousin Maureen also took it upon herself to take care of herself and become healthier even while raising a family.  And now my wife and her friend Amity are making me look like a slacker by working out everyday rain or shine and finding ways to get workouts in, even if it means my four year old has to pace them on her bike as they run.

I have all of these wonderful examples of perseverance, overcoming odds and keeping a smile on your face no matter what challenges rear their ugly heads.  However, the role models that I derive most of my inspiration from and the one closest to me are my parents.

My father is an immigrant from Denmark who came to this country with his family when he was a child.  He served in the Army during Viet Nam and after getting out of the service became a carpenter and has had his own business from that point on.  My mother and him raised four children who all got their college degrees and I think became pretty good human beings  This despite my mother having a stroke almost 20 years ago at the age of 44,  when I was 25 my brother was 23 and my younger brother and sister were in their early teens.  The stroke left her in a wheel chair, unable to communicate very well with those outside the family and with very painful issues with her extremities.  My father would carry her up and down the stairs of their bi-level house by himself. Obviously the event was physically, emotionally and financially devastating.  Even with this horrific event my mom and dad never complained but looked at the next challenge in life.  They got my younger siblings through high school and then through college.  Then 6 years ago my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and given only a few months to live.  Again..they looked at the challenge and how to overcome it.  Only 3 months later my brother Michael was killed by a drunk driver.  These events left me in a shell. I honestly don't know how Mom and Dad handled it.  However, my Mom and Dad were able to keep moving forward.  Mom is still around..still fighting cancer..even through many trips to the ICU..and surgeries and chemo.  And Dad is still right there with Mom..as well as taking care of the people in his town that he was elected a trustee of. 

I honestly cannot think of two more inspirational people when it comes to dealing with what life throws at you and not complaining about whether the universe is fair or not.  They are also two of the friendliest people you would meet and my dad is the first person to help a stranger in need.  This is why I have zero tolerance for people who cannot say "good morning" or "on your left".  I learned common decency and respect from my parents and they are still firm believers in it after all that they have been through.

Dad, Mom,Kristine,me and my daughter after Racine 70.3 last year

Thus the long and short of it is that I just need to look at friends and family for my inspiration and how to act.  I think I am also more grounded when I look at their examples.  If you get your inspiration from pro triathletes, celebrities or others you do not know then more power to you.. Different strokes for different folks.

Who do you get your inspiration from?

OFF SEASON PLAN

OFF SEASON PLAN..LOL..Like I had  an ON SEASON this year.

This is the time of year when I usually sit back, watch football, eat like I did in college and pack on all the pounds that I took off during the summer. I have decided that this is not going to happen this year. I pretty much made the decision while watching the Badgers play a horrible football game against Utah State. I figured that while watching a good football game and eating crap may not be worth the weight gain..watching crappy football and putting on weight definitely is not worth it. So, thank you Badgers in helping to show me the light. The pathetic play calling and offensive line were the major factors in my decision.

However I am also turning 45 in a couple of weeks and although I am not feeling any older I have come to realize that I may have put on a few years without knowing it. Luckily I continue to get better looking with age but at some point I am sure that will start to reverse also.

I am newly invigorated for the sport of triathlon by my trip to Maine and the people I met. Thus I have made the decision to try another Ironman distance race next year. My hope is to do the rev 3 Cedar Point race next September with Jen from Maine. So what am I going to do different this year to make sure I get the results I want?

First of all I am going to hold myself accountable by weighing in online each week.Weight loss is the key to my fitness. Weight loss depends on better nutrition which will also hopefully keep me gout free.  My goal weight is 180 lbs.  I think I last saw that number in 1993..20 years ago!!  I'll figure out a day of the week and post my weight on that day along with my goals for the following week.  Feel free to mock or scold me if you deem it appropriate.

Second, I have come to know some experts in weight loss and fitness and have enlisted them to help me on this journey. With my nutritional habits I am sure I will be their biggest challenge to date. Thus, if I fail to meet my fitness and nutrition goals I definitely have people to blame.  (Including you Taco Bell and your tasty Dorito Tacos!! You are the devil.)  I will even share some of their nutritional tidbits, recipes and training tips with all of you.  And we all know this guy isn't going to be eating kale on a regular basis or become a vegan..so hopefully I will have nutrition tips for everyone..including my peeps in Wisconsin to benefit from. Thus my blog will be educational.

Note: I had a friend from Wisconsin post on facebook she was picking up salads to go with dinner.  Dinner was brats and the salads were "apple taffy salads" meaning apples, snickers bars and whip cream.   I checked with Dina at fuel4mance and she indicated to me that even though there were apples in the salad..this probably would not constitute a salad to anyone outside of Wisconsin or possibly the South.  See..you all learned something already.  But just in case you are interested..here is the link to the recipe...Apple Taffy Salad (This is not a nutrition tip)

Lastly, I plan on hitting the weights the next three months to try and get some lean muscle before 2013.The triathlon training does get me fitter but I do not feel like I am in good shape. More importantly I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to be fast..thus I just need to look good in lycra.  I am not going to try anything like crossfit (been there....done that) since the risk of injury and embarrassment is high. Instead just some good old circuit training and weight lifting with some help from my friend Jen.

UPDATE..yes to a blog I have not posted yet...The weigh in day will be Mondays.  Today I was at 220.2 lbs.  Also, I did a weight circuit today at lunch.  I cannot believe how weak and out of shape I am.  I apparently can swim 1.2 miles and ride 56 miles but bending down to pick up a 5 lb barbell almost caused me to have a heart attack..not to mention the stress of actually picking it up.  Then I did 25 sit ups..people were actually stopping  to see if I was ok because I was breathing so hard.  Good thing I had on my 2011 Barking Dog Duathlon shirt so everyone could see I was an athlete.  

Take care all.

REVIEWS - travel, food and entertainment.

So I thought I would do some reviews for the places we ate at and visited during our trip out East.  The rating systems is based on monkeys with 5 being the best..because obviously the more monkeys the better.

TRAVEL

United Airlines - what can I say..there is a reason I do not fly United unless there is no other option.  I am so glad I did not believe the representative who told me 35 minutes between flights was enough time for me to deplane in New Jersey and switch planes.  You forgot to mention that I would need to take a shuttle to get to a totally different terminal.  Fortunately we took a 5 a.m. flight and had three hours to sit at the wonderful New Jersey airport.  While there we changed gates no less than five times and had to get on the shuttle twice to change terminals.  If Orbitz had not texted me that there were gate changes we would still be sitting there. Oh..and they had a line for first class passengers and one for peons for getting on the 80 passenger plane to Portland. The first class line had a mat to walk over and the other line did not.  They actually yelled at a guy for making the mistake of walking on the mat..even though all the "better" people had already boarded the plane. Seriously?  United gets 2 out of 5 monkeys. 

Portland Airport - This airport rocks..it is tiny and the first thing you notice getting off the plane is the white wood Adirondack chairs scattered around the airport for you to sit in.  I also may be biased as this is where we met Jen, Lola and Marc.   4 out of 5 monkeys.

Hertz Rental - Norwalk.  Yeah. went to return the car. Walked into the office and there is a sign on the desk which says "Back in 15 minutes". Some other woman said she had been waiting there for 20 already.   So we put the keys in the drawer..put our number on a post it note and left.  Most painless return ever..although I have yet to see the bill.  3 out of 5 monkeys.

EATING ESTABLISHMENTS I put on 10 pounds in the week following the race since I finally had food I love instead of the CRAP that I have eaten in Denver.  Heck I did not even see one mexican restaurant and the chains were few and far between. For the most part, every place we ate was privately owned instead of the chain food I am used to and there was actual Polish, Italian and German restaurants and bakeries. What a concept.  


The Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery - We ate there on Saturday night before the race. We sat on their outside patio with a view of the river.  The food was adequate and the staff was friendly-ish.  Although we did have to refill our waters ourselves more than once.  What really gets me is that this place had an inside and outside menu which they did not explain to us before we were seated.  I have not idea what this is all about but do know that the specials they were running were more expensive outside than inside. Really? I should pay more to sit outside with the pasty white Canadian tourists? With the other options in Saco and Biddford I would not go back here.  OH..and apparenlty the dress code for the waitresses is that their shorts can be no longer than the 4 inch apron that they wear. This was both a positive and  a negative depending on your server.  2 out of 5 monkeys.

Pizza By Alex - The number of pizza places in Maine was stagerring, only outnumbered by the places where you can get lobster rolls, which included citgo stations. Unfortunately most of the pizza places serve NY style which I find disgusting.  Luckily my buddy Casey turned me on to Pizza By Alex.  They serve smallish pizzas but they were down right awesome.  The place is a hole in the wall across form the Biddeford Post Office but the food hit the spot.  4 out of 5 monkeys.

Brewhouse - Norwalk Connecticut - We ate at a number of other places but by far and away the favorite was the Brewhouse in Norwalk.  Yes I may biased since our friends Jen and Lou are part owners but the food really is amazing. Plus they have a ton of beers.  We ate here many times and I had scallops for the first time along with risotto.  I also had pasta and learned a new word.."aioli".  However, the brunch was amazing. Yes the natives were drawn to the clams, oysters and salmon..but I ate half my body weight in corn beef hash and eggs Benedict.  Unbelievably good. If you are ever in the area you need to stop by. The food and service is impeccable. 5 out of 5 monkeys.

ENTERTAINMENT

Seven Seas Whale Watch - Gloucester.  This was a blast. The trip takes four hours total and we saw a number of whales.  My understanding is that on many of the trips the whales come right up to the ship. Being later in the season we did not get within a few hundred yards but it was ton of fun.  Plus the city if fun to hang out in for an hour or two....max. 4 out of 5 monkeys.

Norwalk Aquarium - This was a fun time which took about an hour to go through. The exhibits are informative and there is interactive stuff for the kids.  The only downside is the price of tickets for the number of exhibits.

Jen and Angela - This was by far the best entertainment of the trip.  We went to dinner with them at Wormwoods Restaurant (3 out of 5 monkeys) in Biddeford and were totally mesmerized by there stories. Angela's life stories were hilarious..until we found out they were all true..and then we kind of just felt sorry for her.    Jen was the physical comedian of the duo.  Her attempt at eating lobster was worth the price of the dinner alone. Definitely 5 out of 5 monkeys.

So - if you are ever nearby any of these establishments you can rely on my 100% accurate reviews.  Of course the Jen and Angela show travels around a bit so it may be hard for you to catch that act.